Oakland police: Suspected sniper shot by officer dies

Share this:

Oakland police work the area of an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Oakland police continue their investigation into an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

A police officers carries what appears to be a rifle during an investigation near the intersection of 98th and Las Vegas Avenues in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. A suspect that fired several shots from a rifle in the area was taken into custody. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Oakland police work the area of an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Oakland police spokesperson Johnna Watson gives an update from the scene of an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Oakland police on the scene at an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

This Oakland police car at the corner of 98th and Las Vegas Avenues was struck in the front by multiple rifle rounds in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. A suspect was taken into custody and a rifle was recovered by police. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Oakland police continue their investigation into an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

He was later detained nearby and transported to a hospital, Watson said.

Officers recovered the rifle from the scene, Watson said. No other injuries were immediately reported, but police were canvassing the area to be sure. The area was also being surveyed for damage from the gunfire.

Enjaian’s death is the first fatal police shooting in Oakland since Nov. 15, 2015, when Richard Perkins Jr., 39, was killed near the intersection of 90th and Bancroft avenues.

There were no fatal police shootings in 2016 but there were six in 2015. Five of those shootings involved Oakland police and one involved Emeryville police but happened in city limits.

Residents and businesses were asked to shelter in place after the first shots were first reported about 9:05 a.m. in the 9500 block of Las Vegas Avenue near 98th Avenue and Golf Links Road.

Christopher Ransom, who lives on Golf Links Road, a block from Las Vegas, heard four shots being fired in rapid succession. At first, he thought it might be firecrackers, but then his neighbor called him to tell him there was a gunman in his neighborhood.

“Bap, bap, bap, bap,” Ransom recalled of the sound of shots being fired. “Then it was real quiet.”

He looked out his window and saw that four police cars blocked off the street. Although he’s accustomed to hearing the sound of shots fired along with fireworks, Ransom said it was still very scary to think that a shooter was nearby.

“I was quite frightened. It’s just a little too close to home,” he said. “You just never know these days what’s going on with these wackos out here.”

Aerial video footage showed the suspect spray painting a crude image on the hood of a white car and a residential garage door had also been spray painted. He is holding a rifle in the videos.

Oakland police on the scene at an active shooter incident near the intersection of Golf Links Road and 98th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. The suspect was neutralized, but the scene still remains closed off. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group

Police shut down Interstate 580, 98th Avenue and surrounding streets during the manhunt.

Bishop O’Dowd High School and businesses in the area were given the all-clear about 10:20 a.m., allowing them to resume normal activities after a lockdown that lasted over an hour.

Streets in the area, including Las Vegas Avenue, closed for several hours while police investigated the scene, Watson said.

Residents on Golf Links Road said they were disturbed by the activity in their otherwise quiet hills neighborhood. Several residents who have lived on the winding, wooded street for more than a decade all said it was unusual to see any major crimes in their area.

“Normally this is a quiet neighborhood. I was shocked,” said George Calanis, who has lived at his home on Golf Links since 1998.

Calanis was at home doing housework Friday morning when he heard three or four loud “pops,” followed by another series of loud pops, he said, and he immediately thought of gunfire.

“And then, no more than five minutes later, all the police came,” he said.

Calanis’ neighbor, Dwight McDowell, lives in the house that faces the Bottleneck Liquors, which is less than a block from Las Vegas Street. He watched as police officers armed with rifles began pointing their guns in the direction of Las Vegas and 98th Avenue, he said. He was more concerned about the house directly across from him, which is adjacent to the liquor store.

“I called over there to make sure they locked their backdoor,” he said.

Rather than feeling scared, McDowell said he was relieved to see the officers at the ready.

The suspect’s neighbors worried Enjaian would snap after he shot at parked cars at least twice and set a Molotov cocktail in the last week, said neighbor Clifton Simpson.

“Oh, he shot (the cars). He shot them Friday night and Tuesday morning,” said Simpson, who lives on Las Vegas Avenue. “This morning he just went off.”

Simpson said police told him Tuesday that they would try to obtain a warrant for the shooter. “I said now, ‘What happens if he snaps while you guys are gone?’ And this morning he snapped.”

Police did not release any information about the suspect but according to LinkedIn, Enjaian had degrees from UCLA, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Michigan Law School.

In 2014, he lost a lawsuit against the University of Michigan where he was accused of stalking a student but no criminal charges were ever filed. He had filed the suit claiming his Fourth Amendment right had been violated. He later sued and lost a defamation case against ALM Media Properties after the National Law Journal published a story about the stalking allegation.

Enjaian was in the ROTC at UCLA where he is quoted in the 2006 program: “The most important thing I learned at the camps I’ve attended, and in my Army ROTC career, is the importance of peer interaction. People follow people, not ranks. In the Army, the leader is always held responsible for the success or failure of a mission regardless of any externalities. Therefore, as almost all missions are team based missions, you have to earn the respect of your peers for mission success.”

With mass shootings becoming more commonplace, some residents said it’s hard to be surprised anymore, even if the activity was a bit shocking.

“No matter where you live these days, things are happening,” said Audrey, who has been living at her house on Golf Links for the past 12 years and who declined to give her last name.

—————-
* Fatal shootings by officers are included in the Oakland Police Department’s count of homicides investigated by the department.

Harry Harris is a Pulitzer Prize winning breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group. He began his Oakland Tribune career in September 1965 as a 17-year-old copyboy. He became a reporter in 1972 and is considered one of the best crime and breaking news reporters in the country. He has covered tens of thousands of murders and other crimes in the East Bay. He has also mentored dozens of young reporters, some of whom continue to work in journalism today.

Erin Baldassari covers transportation, the Bay Area's housing shortage and breaking news. She served on the East Bay Times' 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning team for its coverage of the Ghost Ship fire. But most of all, she cares deeply about local news and hopes you do, too. If you'd like to support local journalism, please subscribe today.